Episodes

Episodes are the campaigns in WolfQuest used to realistically and educationally portray various life stages of the gray wolf. Each setting is modelled after a real location within Yellowstone National Park. Because the project relies on funding, new episodes and updates may take some time to develop and test before they are publicly released.

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The team originally intended to have four episodes, one for each season of the year, but this plan seems to have changed.

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We originally planned on having four episodes; one for each season. But because episodes are determined by funding and educational value, the number of episodes is left to be determined. We currently have plans for at least two episodes, including a 'deluxe' version of Survival of the Pack that includes Amethyst Mountain, Slough Creek, and whatever updates are chosen for version 2.5.

The first episode and game world is set on the slopes of Amethyst Mountain. The first publicly playable version of the game was a demo released on October 31st 2007. On December 21st 2007, the full game was made available for free via the WolfQuest website with a number of changes to the environment.

On April 28th 2008, the Deluxe edition for this episode was released, which finally saw the introduction of grizzly bears into the game and various bug fixes and revisions. The last standalone version for Amethyst Mountain was 1.6.4; this version (and older) is now obsolete as of 2.0.X.

Amethyst Mountain is the title of the official release for the first episode. Players begin the game as a two-year-old dispersal wolf with one goal: to seek a dispersal wolf of the opposite sex. The journey has only begun!

It is also important to learn how to survive; hunting is an essential skill to master as early as possible so as to benefit the player, and to ensure the survival of their pack in later episodes or online. An alternative is to simply scavenge from carcasses.

The second episode and game world is set in Slough Creek. The first public release for this episode's initial build was January 1st 2010. No demo was ever launched for it.

On October 5th 2011, the Deluxe edition for this episode was released, which addressed existing bugs and added winning contest entries: time, weather, ravens and resting.[2] The last standalone version for Slough Creek was 2.5.1; this version (and older) is now obsolete as of 2.7.X.

Survival of the Pack is the title of the official release for the second episode and the direct sequel to Amethyst Mountain. Having travelled to Slough Creek with their newfound partner, this episode progresses through five missions, each one being a crucial milestone to the growth of the player's pack.

The third episode and game world is to be set around Yellowstone River, Tower Fall.[3]This episode is currently in alpha-stage development and does not yet have a release date. However, it has been mentioned that it will be released in early 2018.

On December 31st 2016, Eduweb announced plans for a new episode.[4] There is no current release date for this new episode. It will continue from where the second episode left off and will see the continued growth (and possibly the expansion) of the player's pack.

In the first weeks of June, the pups frolic at the rendezvous site in Slough Creek while their parents bring them their first meals of fresh elk meat. When the elk herds move down into the Lamar Valley the pack follows — only to find other packs have already established territories in the valley. So the they journey further south, up and over Specimen Ridge, then down into the valley of the Yellowstone River. There, on the banks of the Yellowstone, with Tower Fall thundering nearby, the pack makes a new home amid fellow predators and plentiful prey. Here the pack will stake out a new territory, protect their family from danger, and and raise a new generation of skilled hunters.

What else will this episode include? Lots! In a future blog post we’ll talk about how we’ve compiled all the ideas from the “Ideas for new episodes” threads here and on Steam to see what aligns with this period in a pack’s life. We’ll be sharing details over the coming months as we refine our designs and start production. For now, we can say this:

The pups continue to grow — and so do their appetites.

Fortunately there are elk and moose calves around, which make easier hunting for clever wolves.

As the summer progresses, those pups will grow big enough to join in the hunting trips.

Rival wolf packs may try to kill your pups and even take over your territory — unless you’re strong and skillful enough to fight them off.

These maps have no objectives or missions beyond survival and play no part in the main campaign that WolfQuest has to offer its players -- as a result, they are optional maps not to be considered or counted as episodes.

Set outside of Yellowstone National Park in a purely fictitious location (with inspiration from real-world locations and events), Lost River is set in an unknown and desolate valley somewhere in western America. While it is possible to find and establish a bond with a dispersal wolf of the opposite sex, it is not possible to migrate to Slough Creek.